Legend of Korra Book 3 Chapter 11 review - The Ultimatum

Chapter 11 – The Ultimatum

Inception horn noises open the episode - sh*t’s going down

SPOILER WARNING, I can’t not discuss spoilers for this, so… sorry

This episode had the unenviable position of being the episode before the 2-part finale, and it’s one of the best episodes of Korra to date

We get some nice character moments with Mako and Bolin as they decide to save their family as Ba Sing Se falls, and with Korra as she decides exactly how to deal with Zaheer’s ultimatum.

But the real bit of the episode is the action, as the Red Lotus take on the air nation in a no holds barred battle. Zaheer vs Tenzin was the most exciting, and it’s good to know that despite being a brilliant airbender for no reason other than plot convenience, he isn’t a match for an air bending master like Tenzin alone. Kya experienced the same problem Bolin did as she fought Ming Hua, her every attack was just giving Ming Hua Ammo, as was prominently demonstrated with the water blast. Ghazan vs Bumi was funny, as Bolin’s lack of airbending experience shows (her seriously had a great opportunity to strike just after he slid under Ghazan’s legs) and he makes up for it with dirty tricks like hair pulling.

Kai is suddenly my new favourite character, as he bravely took a stance against P’li in the hopes of buying the others time to leave the temple, sadly his efforts were not enough, as he was blasted out of the sky by P’li, saved only by a convenient tree and a bison he rescued in Original Airbenders (you may not I’ve already adjusted the score for that episode)

But before that battle happens, we return to Zaofu, reinforcing my belief that the metal clan is more involved with the Red Lotus than we’ve been lead to believe. And we have to say a sad goodbye to Lord Zuko. Given the circumstances, it’s only natural that Zuko would want to protect his daughter, above all else, but not before giving Korra some advice (you know who was closer to Aang than anyone, Katara, maybe she could advise Korra  a bit more) but before that, Korra goes into the spirit world, and meets up with Iroh

Bolin's family have a few funny scenes too, with the Grandma being an outsider to Mako and Bolin's life (is she seriously that women from Tales of Ba Sing Se, my things have changed) being at the forefront of that (‘why is Bolin hugging that big rat?’ Aww, poor Pabu) we also see Naaga greet Mako (there are a lot more animal scenes with Naaga in them in this book)

But back to the air temple, with the Bison scared off, Kya and Bumi are defeated, and Tenzin holds his own against all 4 of the Red Lotus, briefly before being pummelled from all sides. One of the most badass Tenzin moments to date, and without doubt the best action scene from the entire series. Animation is, as usual, excellent and the music keeps up with the fast pacing of the action scene. My adrenaline is pumping every time I rewatch this episode, and I believe it’s a sign of great things to come.

Things I’m expecting from the finale

- Target: President Reico (Republic City has to come back into the fray at some point)

- Korra (with or without help) vs the Red Lotus (Korra needs to fight them at some point, even if it isn't how they're defeated)

- The full scale of the Red Lotus (those 4 can’t be the only members, right?)

Rating 9.9/10

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